


There Is An Itch Just Underneath My Skin But It Isn't For You

by Olsies



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: (meaning nancy still dumps steve), Boys Being Boys, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Underage Drinking, semi canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olsies/pseuds/Olsies
Summary: Steve takes a step back and runs right into a very solid body.“Whoa, pretty boy,” a familiar voice says. “You are bound and determined to crash into me today.”Seve’s heart thuds heavily in his chest. He can’t do this.“You ok, Steve?” Billy asks when Steve doesn’t turn around and just begins to shake.“I’m fine,” Steve says, but his voice cracks. Billy pushes up behind him and sees Nancy and Jonathan.“Hey, isn’t that your—” Billy starts.“Not any more.”Silence.“That fucking sucks. Want a drink? I could probably get some weed if you wanted,” Billy offers.***or the one where billy and steve go destroy stuff in the junkyard and become friends instead of antagonistic enemies
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	There Is An Itch Just Underneath My Skin But It Isn't For You

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Steve mutters as he rushes to his car. He can’t believe he left his binder with all his homework in his car. At least he hopes it’s in his car. If it’s not he’s  _ totally _ fucked because he has no idea where it would be. He’s such a fuckup. He can hear Nancy berating him in the back of his head and he tries to ignore her. He opens his trunk and begins searching. When he can’t find it he opens the back door and keeps searching. He finally finds it under one of Nancy’s sweaters.

“Thank fuck!” Steve mutters. He closes up his car and runs back into the school. He’s rushing past the main office when he slams into another boy. Steve falls and his homework binder goes flying, papers scattering.

“Whoa, pretty boy, what’s the rush?” the other boy asks. Steve doesn’t recognize him, so he must be a transfer student. Steve begins scrambling for his papers.

“Tardy bell rang ten minutes ago and I left my binder in my car,” Steve explains.

The other boy gets down and starts helping Steve get the papers. “Here,” he says, handing the stack to Steve when they’ve gathered them all.

Without paying attention, Steve shoves his papers in his binder. “Thanks. I’m Steve.” He holds his hand out and the other boy shakes it.

“I’m Billy. I’m new here."

“Welcome to hell,” Steve says although he’s not quite sure why. It makes the other boy laugh, though.

“Thanks,” Billy says. They both stand up. “Hey, do you know where Mr. Campbell’s class is?”

“Yeah, it’s on my way, I’ll show you.”

“You sure you have time?” Billy asks. “You seemed like you were in a rush before.”

Shrugging, Steve sighs. “I’m late anyway. What’s a few more minutes?”

“Thanks.”

They start walking down the hall.

“So does this place  _ really _ suck?” Billy asks.

“Hawkins?” Steve shrugs again. “I hate it but I’ve also lived here my whole life. Where are you from?”

“California.”

Steve whistles. “You’re going to hate it here.” 

They both laugh again. 

“What grade are you in?”

“I’m a senior.”

“Wow, that fucking sucks. Your parents must really hate you if they made you move in the middle of your senior year.”

When Billy doesn’t say anything, Steve looks over at him. He’s frowning and Steve knows he’s done it again. He’s managed to say the wrong thing to a total stranger.

“Sorry. I didn’t—Sometimes I just say shit—”

“Don’t worry. It’s fine.” They both fall silent until they get to Billy’s classroom.

“This is it.” Steve points to a door.

“Thanks, pretty boy.” Billy winks at him. “I’ll see you around.”

“See ya,” Steve says.

As soon as Billy is gone, Steve takes off down the hall knowing there’s  _ no way _ he doesn't have detention. He just hopes that Nancy has to go to the library after school so she won’t have to waste too much time waiting for him.

***

That night, standing in front of the mirror, Steve studies himself. Something feels off but he can’t figure out what. His hair is what he’d been going for (mostly), his pants and shirt look  _ fine _ , but something is missing.

Oh, right.

His will to go to the Halloween party at Tina’s.

He’d been looking forward to the party all week, a little chance to blow off some steam. Everything has been feeling so off with Nancy, but he can’t figure out what’s causing it. He's doing everything he thinks will make her happy. He’s applying for school, offering to blow off a year, and just trying to get her to relax.

But of course she couldn’t let go of the Barb thing.

When he’d gone to tell her he had detention, she’d started to try and talk about telling Barb’s parents. Again. Even though she knew they couldn’t and they could get in  _ so much fucking trouble _ if they did.

Nancy seemed to think that it was all her fault, but Steve knows he is just as much to blame, more even. He’s the one who had pulled Nancy away, had encouraged her to leave her friend alone when she was  _ clearly _ uncomfortable, but he  _ really _ liked Nancy and she was  _ finally _ paying attention to him.

_ Barb could have gone home at any time, _ Steve thinks to himself.  _ This is just as much her fault as ours. _

But Steve knows thinking like this is harsh and wrong. Barb didn’t deserve what happened to her any more than the little Byers boy deserved what happened to him.

He licks his lips and just leaves the bathroom. Staring at himself in the mirror won’t make him look any better or make him want to go to the party.

On the way to pick up Nancy, Steve plays his music a little too loud, but he remembers to turn it down before turning off his car and walking up to Nancy’s door. Mrs. Wheeler opens the door and lets him in.

She asks him all the basic mom questions: How are his parents, how is school, and how are his college applications going. And he responds the only way he knows how: fine, fine, and fine. Of course, it’s all lies. He has no idea how his parents are, they haven’t been home in months, school is  _ never _ good, and college applications? Ha! If his essay was anything to go off of, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to go. He’d spent so long on that essay and it wasn’t good enough.

He’s  _ never _ good enough.

Just when he’s about ready to bolt, Nancy comes down the stairs. She looks so cute, and when she smiles at him, he smiles back.

_ Maybe tonight won’t be so bad _ , he thinks to himself.

“Hey, Steve.” Nancy kisses his cheek.

“You look  _ really _ nice,” Steve says as he laces their fingers together.

“Thanks, Steve.” She looks at her mom. “I’ll be home by twelve.”

“Alright, you two be safe,” Mrs. Wheeler calls as they leave. Steve and Nancy walk in silence to the car.

They drive in silence and as they pull up to the party, Steve knows they’ve made a mistake. Half the school is there, all of them running around, loud and drunk. He’s just about to say so when Nancy opens the door.

“Are you coming?” she asks.

“Yeah.” He turns off the car and they go in. It’s even louder in the house. They look around trying to find someone they would want to talk to, but there’s no one.

They end up standing by a wall looking and feeling so uncomfortable. Steve’s about to ask Nancy if she wants a drink when that new kid Billy comes over to them. He’s wearing tight jeans, a leather jacket with no shirt, and black fingerless gloves. He’s covered in beer, spit, and sweat. He’s smoking a cigarette and just studying Steve.

Steve opens his mouth to say hello when Tommy comes up behind Billy.

“We got ourselves a new Keg King, Harrington!” Tommy yells.

“Yeah, that’s right!” someone else yells.

“Yeah, eat it, Harrington!” another boy yells.

Steve’s face falls a little. He and Tommy haven’t talked in months and if Billy has decided to be friends with them that left Steve alone with Nancy again. He gropes for her hand but finds nothing. Nancy is gone.

“Uh, cool. Congratulations,” Steve says. “I should go find my girlfriend. Bye.” He stumbles away and finds Nancy in the kitchen in front of a punch bowl.

“Pure fuel! Pure! Fuel! Whoo!” a boy yells.

Nancy grabs a cup and dips it in the punch. Steve rushes to her side. He knows she’s not really a drinker and Tina’s punch is famously strong. He knows it’s only a matter of time before the night comes crashing down around them.

“Hey… Whoa, whoa! Hey… Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy. Take it easy. Nance, Nance, Nance…” He’s trying to get her to stop but she just tries to push him away. Strike one.

“We’re just being stupid teenagers for the night. Wasn’t that the deal?” She glares at him until he lets her go and then she dips her cup back into the punch. She chugs the cup, wipes some of the excess off and walks over to where people are dancing.

And for a few precious moments, Steve thinks the night is  _ maybe _ salvageable. Just as he’s starting to relax, Nancy stumbles off to get more punch. Steve follows after her, tries to get her to stop, but only manages to spill punch all over her white outfit. Strike two.

The entire party watches as they go to the bathroom. As soon as the door closes, they begin to fight. He knows he should just leave her to it. She is too drunk to accept any help, but then she says it.

“You wanted this,” she slurs.

“No, I didn’t want this. I told you to stop drinking.”

“It’s bullshit. Bullshit.”

“No, it’s not bullshit, ok? It’s not bullshit, Nancy.”

“No, you. You’re bullshit.” She stops fighting him and just looks at him.

Blinking rapidly, Steve stammers, “What?” He knows he should just leave, he should just leave the bathroom and let Nancy cool off, but he can’t move.

“You’re pretending like everything is ok. You know, like we didn’t… Like we didn’t kill  _ Barb* _ .” She’s so hurt and he knows he should just leave her alone, just walk away. She's just being mean, but he can’t move.

“Like, it’s great. Like, we’re in love and we’re partying. Yeah, let’s party, huh? Party. We’re partying. This is bullshit,” Nancy slurs.

Steve blinks at her. “Like we’re in love?” He says softly. He cups her cheek and shudders. He can’t fucking do this. This can’t be fucking happening.

“It’s bull _ shit _ .”

“You don’t love me?” Steve asks louder.

“It’s bullshit.”

Strike three, he’s out.

He looks at her for a moment and then just shakes his head. He makes a beeline for the door. He bounces into Jonathan but doesn’t stop to apologize because of course Jonathan is here.

He walks out onto the porch and looks around. It's getting  _ really _ cold so most of the kids have gone inside, but he can hear some people out back so he follows the sound. He sighs when he finds Billy with Tommy and the others. He  _ almost  _ goes to them but doesn’t at the last minute. He starts to walk away but Billy catches the movement and makes direct eye contact with him.

At first Steve is scared he’s going to say something and the last thing he needs is for Tommy to see him like this, but Billy just nods. Steve nods back and walks back to the front of the house. Before he can head to his car, he sees Nancy and Jonathan leaving the party. Nancy is slumped up against his shoulder.

“Fuck,” he whispers to himself. He doesn’t want them to see him either. Steve takes a step back and runs right into a very solid body.

“Whoa, pretty boy,” a familiar voice says. “You are bound and determined to crash into me today.”

Seve’s heart thuds heavily in his chest. He can’t do this.

“You ok, Steve?” Billy asks when Steve doesn’t turn around and just begins to shake.

“I’m fine,” Steve says, but his voice cracks. Billy pushes up behind him and sees Nancy and Jonathan.

“Hey, isn’t that your—” Billy starts.

“Not any more.”

Silence.

“That fucking sucks. Want a drink? I could probably get some weed if you wanted,” Billy offers.

Steve pulls away and turns around, finally. “Why are you being so nice to me? Don’t you want to go hang out with Tommy and Carol? We don’t exactly run in the same crowd. If you want to be friends with them, you won’t be allowed to be friends with me.”

“Nah,” Billy says. “Tommy started puking in the bushes and I’m pretty sure he’s not going to stop any time soon.”

“Great. Glad I’m better company than a puking guy.” Steve sighs. “Leave me alone.” He heads back into the house.

There's still punch and the party's still going strong. Nobody cares when he helps himself to the punch or when he goes back to the dancing area. Nancy may say being a stupid teenager is bullshit but what is more teenager than getting shit faced, breaking up at a party, and then leaving said party with someone other than your boyfriend?

He’s not bullshit, she is.

When he finishes his punch, he goes to get more and finds Billy leaning up against the counter smoking a cigarette. Steve tries to ignore him, but Billy kicks at his calf until he turns around.

“What do you want? Did you miss the part where I want to be alone?” Steve asks.

“You want to be alone at a party? Do you know how stupid you sound?”

“Wow. Good to know strangers know I’m stupid. Thanks for making sure I know just exactly how much a fuckup I am.”

“What the fuck’s your problem, man? I’m just—”

“What the fuck is my problem? You! You’re my problem.”

“You are such a feisty little thing.”

Steve makes a face. “Just shut—”

Billy takes his cup and dumps it back into the bowl. “C’mon.” He grabs Steve by the upper arm. Steve is too tired to argue so he lets Billy tug him away. They go out the front and Steve is relieved to find that Nancy and Jonathan are long gone. Billy just tugs him down the path to his blue Camaro. He’s parked right up against the woods, a place Steve normally avoids, but he’s  _ just _ drunk enough to not care.

“Where are we going?” Steve asks as Billy drops his arm.

“Nowhere. I just figured you needed some air.” Billy pulls a joint out of his pocket. Without asking, he lights it and passes it to Steve.

“Thanks,” Steve mumbles.

Leaning against the car, they fall silent for a few minutes as they just pass the joint back and forth.

“It just really sucks, you know?” Steve says.

“That girl?”

“Yeah.” He pauses. “We’ve been off for a few weeks, but like, I didn’t think it was that bad.”

“What happened?”

Shaking his head, Steve shrugs. “It’s complicated.”

“Did you do something?”

“No,” he says softly.

“So she did something?”

Steve shakes his head, no.

“So then—”

“I don’t know that Nancy ever  _ really _ loved me.” He pauses, and then whispers to himself, “No one ever  _ really _ loves me.” He wishes he knew what to tell Nancy to make everything better, to make her understand that it wasn’t their fault that Barb had died, that it was those assholes at Hawkins Lab. They should have been allowed to have one night of stupidity. They should have. They were too young for their lives to be this hard.

“ _ She’s _ fucking bullshit,” Steve mumbles.

Billy studies him for a moment. Clearing his throat, Steve stands up and shakes his head a little.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he says louder.

“Ok.”

“She thinks I’m  _ bullshit _ , but  _ she’s _ bullshit. It’s all  _ bull _ shit.”

“She sounds like a real bitch.”

Licking his lips and furrowing his brow, Steve shakes his head. “She’s a  _ nice girl _ from a  _ nice family _ who  _ loves her _ ."

“So she’s a spoiled bitch.”

“She’s a  _ nice girl _ .” Steve huffs and shakes his head as he begins to pace.

“And you’re not a nice boy?”

Huffing again, Steve looks up. “I’ve been the Keg King for three years. Real nice boy.” They both snort with laughter.

“Nancy’s not a bitch,” Steve says softly. He kicks at the dirt. “I’m a fucking screw up and I was lucky she put up with me as long as she did.” His chest tightens and he screws up his face in an attempt to not cry. “I hope she’s happy with Jonathan.” A tear spills down his cheek and he brushes it away angrily. Even high and drunk, he doesn’t want anyone to see him like this, much less a complete stranger. “You know, I probably won’t even get into college. My grades are… My parents are going to be so pissed when they realize even their money won’t save me this time.”

“College isn’t for everyone,” Billy says.

“You say that, but I’ll be the first Harrington to not go to college in like a million years or something,” Steve grouses. He shakes his head. “Fuck my parents though. They don’t even fucking know me. They don’t know who I am.”

“Whose parents do?” Billy asks.

“Fuck parents and fuck college and _fuck_ _Nancy Wheeler_!” Steve shouts.

“Whoo!” Billy yells. “Yeah! Fuck Nancy and fuck parents!”

They shout nonsense into the woods until they're out of breath. When they're done, they look at each other, smiling widely. Steve feels more relaxed than he has in months. He leans up against the Camaro a little closer to Billy. He’s staring at the other boy’s chest and wondering how he’s not colder when Billy clears his throat.

“‘Feeling a little bit better?” Billy asks.

Steve shrugs a little.

“Ready to go back to the party?” Billy asks.

Biting his lips, Steve shakes his head. “Nah, I think I’ll walk home.”

“Aww, come on, Stevie. The night is young and so are we. Let’s go dance and just be stupid teenagers.”

Steve looks over at Billy. “I don’t really wanna dance with some girl when I just—When—”

“Hey, you don’t have to take anyone home, just dance. C’mon. It’ll be fun.”

Sighing, Steve rolls his head. “Alright, but just for a little while.”

“I’ll tell you what, pretty boy. You come back to the party and if you still feel like shit after a while we’ll go knock down some mail boxes or something.”

Perking up a little, Steve says, “I’ve got a bat with a bunch of nails in it.”

Billy blinks at him. “You what?”

“I’ve got a—"

“No, I heard you, pretty boy, I just—Why? Isn’t Hawkins supposed to be some boring ass town where nothing happens?” Billy asks.

Licking his lips, Steve shrugs. He shouldn’t have said anything. “Let’s go back to the party.” He takes off and Billy follows close behind him.

When they get back in, the party is somehow crazier, but it’s clear that it’s going to end soon. Kids are starting to look tired and leaning up against each other. There’s still a group of kids dancing though, so Billy and Steve walk over and join the crowd. Everyone cheers when they see Billy and Steve, and it’s almost like the pre-Nancy days. Steve is able to lose himself in the moment. It all ends when someone nearly pukes all over Billy, who manages to step out of the way just in time.

“I think that’s our cue to get out of here, Steve,” Billy says. He grabs Steve by his collar and they walk back down the hill. “Do you have the bat with you?” Billy asks when they're outside. It’s even colder and Steve shivers. Billy lights a cigarette.

“Uh, yeah, it’s in my trunk.” He leads him to his Beemer and pops the trunk. He pulls out the bat and presents it to Billy who holds his cigarette between two fingers while he looks the bat over. The nails are crooked and rusty, the wood stained dark with blood.

“You know, Tommy wouldn’t think you were a pussy if he knew you had this,” Billy says.

Steve shrugs. “I stopped  _ really _ caring about what Tommy thought when I started dating—” He cuts himself off when he remembers that Nancy had gone home with Jonathan. Billy puts his cigarette in between his lips, holds the bat in one hand, and slaps Steve  _ hard _ on the back with his free hand. It almost knocks the wind out of him.

“C’mon. Let’s go see what this baby can do,” Billy says.

“What?”

Billy starts walking again leaving Steve to chase after him. His heart rate picks up a little when Billy seems to be going to the woods, but he just stops at his car.

“Billy, we should probably—"

“Let’s go fuck up some mail boxes.”

“Are you even sober enough to drive?”

Tossing the cigarette and licking his lips, Billy considers this for a moment. “Probably not.” He scrunches up his face.

“Maybe we should just walk home.”

“Nah.” Billy looks around. “Let’s just walk around and see what we can fuck up.”

Biting his lip, Steve doesn’t know what to say. There’s no way he can tell Billy about all the fucked up shit that has gone on, but he doesn’t want to go home. He doesn’t want to leave Billy because he’s a little afraid Billy won’t want to be his friend in the morning, and at least right now he has a friend who isn’t Nancy, and that’s more than he thought he’d have.

“Ok,” Steve mumbles. They start walking down the street and Billy gives a few practice swings before tossing his cigarette.

The silence after the party feels weird. Steve’s about to say something when they approach a house. Billy looks over at him with a fiery look in his eyes.

“Dare me to fuck this mailbox up?” Billy asks. Steve looks at it and up at the house. Part of him wants to watch Billy beat the shit out of it, wants to beat the shit out of it himself, but he knows that if they do, the owners of the house are sure to call the cops, and the last thing he wants to do is have to wait for someone to bail his ass out.

“Nah, they’ll just call the cops if we do,” Steve says and then gets an idea. “But I think I know where we can go. Follow me.”

They cross the street and cut through some backyards. Steve fills up the silence by talking about the different neighbors. He tells Billy who’s drinking, who’s having affairs, and who’s getting divorced. When they get back on a street, Steve tells Billy about the time he totally wiped out when he was learning how to ride a bike and split his chin open.

“I cried all the way home.” Steve laughs. “I thought I was dying. When my nanny saw me, she also thought I was dying and bundled me up in a blanket and took me to the hospital. It was… Not a good time.”

“Nanny, huh?” Billy asks.

Steve blushes. “My parents have enough money they never have to see me if they don’t want to but can still make sure I don’t die by paying other people to take care of me.” He doesn’t dare look at Billy and Billy doesn’t say anything back. As they get to the end of the street, Steve realizes they’ve spent literally the whole night talking about him, and he knows  _ nothing _ about Billy.

“What was growing up in California like?” Steve asks. He turns the corner and they keep walking, but Billy doesn’t say anything.

Billy doesn’t say anything for so long Steve wants to take it back, and opens his mouth to do so when Billy swings the bat again.

“Sucked,” Billy says finally. “But I had some friends.”

“People like Tommy and Carol?”

Billy shakes his head, no. “People like you.”

Laughing, Steve shakes his head as he stops to look at Billy. “You mean people who are a mess and like to overshare?”

Billy swings the bat again. “I don’t think you’re as much of a mess as you think you are.”

“Ha! Tell my dad that.”

“Okay. Let’s go to your house and I will.”

Laughing, Steve shakes his head. “Won’t do any good. My parents are out of town. Besides, we’re here.”

“We’re where?” Billy asks.

Steve points up to a sign that says ‘Ray’s Junkyard’. There are also a lot of signs that say 'keep out' and 'watch out for dogs', but Steve ignores them.

“Oh,” Billy says in a soft voice as he looks up. “Ok.”

The gate is locked, but Steve just walks around the side to a spot he knows the fence is broken and pushes it back.

“I take it you’ve done this before.”

“Yeah, a bit,” Steve says as Billy crawls through the hole. Steve follows after him and they start walking around to find shit to destroy.

They find glass bottles, old appliances, and a car door. They take turns swinging the bat and yelling nonsense. Steve’s not sure what Billy’s yelling about but he can guess. He would have killed his parents if they made him move in his senior year. But it also feels like it's more than that. He can’t help but wonder what Billy’s hiding. Any questions about his past or family, and he just closes up.

They destroy stuff until their arms are tired and they’re hoarse. Billy kind of stumbles over to Steve and slings an arm around his shoulders.

“Feeling any better?” Billy asks as he hands Steve the bat.

Steve shrugs. He grips the wood as tightly as he can. He knows the night is coming to an end, but he really doesn’t fucking want it to.

“You really loved her, didn’t you?”

Head dropping, Steve nods a little. “Yeah. I did.”

Squeezing Steve’s shoulder with one hand, Billy slaps his chest with the other.

“Ow, you fucker,” Steve says looking at Billy.

Laughing, Billy says, “You’re going to be alright, King Steve.”

Smiling a little, Steve huffs. “Didn’t you, like, just steal my title?”

“Long live the king, Steve. Long live the king.” They both laugh. “Now help me get home because I have  _ no fucking clue _ where I am.”

“Where do you live?”

“Cherry Lane.”

“Ah. That’s... That’s pretty far actually.” Steve bites his lip. “Will your parents kill you if you stay out all night? 'Cause my house is so much closer. We’ve got  _ a lot _ of empty guest rooms.”

Billy shrugs. “Time is it anyway?”

Steve looks at his watch. “A little after midnight.”

“Well, my dad’s already locked the door, so between sleeping in my car and a warm bed, I choose the bed.” He looks at Steve with a little smirk. “Just to be clear, if it was a choice between your bed and Tina’s bed, I’d choose your bed any day.” He winks at Steve who just stands there open mouthed and blushing. Billy walks back to the fence where they’d come in.

“Do you even know Tina?” Steve asks as he crawls through.

“I met her when I got to the party. She had great tits.”

Huffing again, Steve just rolls his eyes. “You’re ridiculous, Billy, do you know that?”

“I’ve been told, pretty boy.”

They fall silent again as they get back to the street and this time Steve lets it be. He’s tired and ready for bed. He doesn’t know how he’s going to get through the next day, but he doesn’t really care. Tomorrow is future Steve’s problem. Tonight he just has to get home, get Billy in a guest bed, and crash. Everything else can wait.

When they turn the corner to Steve’s street, he bumps into Billy.

“That’s my house.”

Blinking, Billy looks up at it. “Jesus fuck. Your house is so much bigger than Tina’s!” Steve shrugs. “And you have a heated pool! Aww man, you just became my new best friend!”

Smiling weakly, Steve just nods as they walk up the path and he unlocks the door. They take off their shoes and jackets. Steve is suddenly aware again that Billy doesn’t have a shirt.

“You want a shower? I can lend you a t-shirt and some sweats too, if you want.”

Billy shrugs. “Shower would be nice.”

Steve shows him where the bathroom is, and the guest room. “If you get thirsty or hungry, help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

“Towel?” Billy asks.

“Cabinet.” Steve leans past Billy and opens the place they hide the towels.

“Awesome, thanks.”

“I’m gonna head to bed. My room’s just next to yours. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Ok, pretty boy. Sleep well.”

“You too.”

Billy closes the door and Steve goes to his bedroom. He pulls out some sweats and a t-shirt to put in the guest room  _ just in case _ before going to his own bathroom and getting in the shower himself.

After he’s showered, he falls heavily into bed, his limbs feeling so heavy, his head swirling. He knows he should drink water and take some Tylenol but it’s too late. He’s too comfortable and he’s too tired. The inevitable hangover is future Steve’s problem. In the morning, he and Billy would walk the few blocks back to Tina’s and head to class. Tonight he’s just going to sleep and hopefully not dream.

Sighing heavily, he shoves his face into his pillows and can't help but wonder if Billy had been flirting with him all night, or if Steve was just too drunk to know any better. Before he can get too lost in it, he passes out and sleeps till morning.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you like this. it's been sitting in my drafts for literally months. come follow me on [tumblr](https://nblesbianbenhanscom.tumblr.com/)


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